Jurkovec is transferring to Pitt
Pete Thamel of ESPN is reporting that Phil Jurkovec will be transferring to Pitt from Boston College. Jurkovec is 6'5" senior with one year of eligibility remaining. He served the last three seasons as the starting quarterback for Boston College. In the 2022 season, Jurkovec threw for 1,711 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The news comes just hours after Pitt starting quarterback Kedon Slovis announced his intentions to leave the program after just one season. It will be the second straight year Pitt has found a power-five starting quarterback in the transfer portal to come take the job.
The connection here is obvious. Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. was at Boston College prior to coming to Pittsburgh. He worked with Jurkovec in the 2020 season and the two found instant success. Jurkovec came to Boston College looking for an opportunity after not seeing much action in his first two years in college at Notre Dame.
The 2020 season proved to be very effective for both sides. Jurkovec threw for 2,558 yards and 17 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He also rushed for 150 yards and three scores.
Though things did not go as smoothly the past two seasons. Injuries and the coaching change have not done Jurkovec any favors. He missed six games last season due to injury, and only appeared in eight games for the Eagles this year.
The departure of Slovis left a void for Pitt's starting quarterback vacancy for the 2022 season, but Jurkovec's commitment helps paint a much more clear picture. He and Cignetti will be asked to replicate that 2020 success and improve Pitt's offense in 2023.
Of course the connections run deeper than just Cignetti. Jurkovec is a Pittsburgh native and star football player for local powerhouse Pine-Richland High School. He played under former Pitt player Eric Kasperowicz and put together one of the finest prep careers for a quarterback in Western Pennsylvania in a long time.
Jurkovec threw for 8,202 yards and 71 touchdowns in three seasons as Pine Richland's starting quarternack and capped off his career with a five touchdown game in the 2017 state championship.
Jurkovec was ranked as a four-star recruit in high school and signed with Notre Dame. He was recruited by Pitt during the process and should have a foundation with Pat Narduzzi, but the hometown Panthers never seemed to be in the mix. That all changes now as Jurkovec gets one more season in college football with his hometown team.